officers. charles walker. the result of the ballot held this evening is that the parliamentary party does have confidence. [cheering] [cheers and applause] >> does have confidence in theresa may has leader of the

conservative party. the number of votes cast in favor of having confidence in theresa may was 200. and against was 117. under the rules set out in the constitution of the conservative party, no further confidence vote can take place for at least -- [cheering] [applause] connell: there you have it, live from london. graham brady the chairman of the conservative party the 1922 committee, making the announcement official. theresa may survives. will fight another day. she stays in power. >> she needed 159 votes to have the confidence vote. they said the vote cast 200-117.

they looked like they were having a lot more fun than chuck and nancy does on our side of the pond, right? connell: they always do. melissa: yeah, they always do. let's go to ashley webster who is there with the implications of this. i understand according to local betting everyone thought she would win the confidence. ashley, what matters here is the margin. ashley: it is interesting. 200, she easily surpassed the 159. don't forget 117 voted they did not have confidence in her as a leader. that is a little more than a third. that is a lot. it is not exactly a ringing endorsement but nevertheless she survives. i have a feeling will hear from mrs. may outside of downing street in a little while here. she started the day she would give everything she has got to stay as prime minister. now we'll hear from her in the show while. she will go from here, tomorrow back in brussels trying to win a better deal for her "brexit" withdrawal agreement. but the problem is, this

confidence vote was brought by these rebel "brexit" tears in their party, although she lost, she can vote down any "brexit" deal with a vote whenever that happens. she has a tough road ahead of her. see is not mortally wounded but she is weakened by these results. she said prior to the vote was taken she would step down before the next general election. at least she had the intention of doing so. that could be a politician word she could perhaps go back on. it was inferred she would not stand for the party in the next general election. her biggest job now, try to find some sort of deal with the eu to get britain, or the uk out of the eu by march 29th with a deal everyone can agree on. to be honest, that i will was very difficult task indeed, guys. melissa: almost like her work hasn't even begun here. she won the confidence vote but has to do the whole "brexit"

thing. ashley, thank you very much. connell: we look at the door to number 10 downing street. nile gardiner, from heritage foundation, margaret thatcher center for freedom where he is director. as we are waiting to hear from theresa may herself with her own reaction as we await for that, neil, what is yours? what do you think? >> although the prime minister won the result, it was a pretty bad result, over a third of the mps voted against the prime minister and i think that you know, she has a real problem of credibility within her own party. although she has on paper won this result, the fact that 117 conservative mps voted against their own leader i think this is a pretty damning blow against the prime minister. she will no doubt struggle along. i don't think she will be resigning but she is significantly weakened figure

today after a disasterous chambolic week. this will add further to her woes. in many ways theresa may looks like a lame duck prime minister. connell: what does that mean? the markets close up 157 points, well off the session highs. other things are going on in the markets. china trade optimism drove stocks higher. investors are watching this. she will go to brussels, to ashley's point to make a case for her plan. what is your next best guess here? >> she will go to brussels tomorrow. the european commission said they will give her no more than ten minutes of her time to make the case reneges shun.

there is zero prospect getting her eu "brexit" deal through the house of commons. in many ways i think that the prime minister is in a very, very difficulty situation. in my view the only way forward now to prepare britain for a no-deal "brexit." that is the best scenario. then step down after march 29th, 2019, once the "brexit" process formally begun. the reality she is greatly diminished prime minister the day after an appalling-bad week for her. she continues as the prime minister. she doesn't really have the full control of her own, of her own party. with the dup, withdrawing their support from the prime minister in a confidence of supply arrangement, she no longer has a majority in the house of commons. i don't see how she can lead

herself. melissa: this is melissa francis. you raised the possibility of a no-deal "brexit." practically, what does that look like? >> what that means is there is no transition period for britain leaving the eu so the transition is due to last until the end of 2020 whereby britain would remain part of the single market and customs union. instead there would be a hard "brexit" on march 29th. britain reverts to world trade organizations rules in terms of trading with the eu, the rest of the word. of the britain has freedom to sign free-trade agreements with countries all over the world including the united states. i have no britain would do absolutely fine under no deal arrangement. melissa: that was, nile, my next question. that was my next question. there are folks on our network that her "brexit" is no "brexit" at all.

sounds like the no deal "brexit" you're discuss something sort of what the people voted for anyway? >> yes. the british people voted for britain to be completely out of the european union. theresa may's deal turns britain with a satellite of eu with no say what the eu actually does. some argued it is worse than being a member of the european union. so a no-deal scenario is infinitely better than what theresa may is proposing. i don't see any alternative for the prime minister right now other than to move forward with a no deal. connell: so if you were brought in to consult for a company that operates in the uk right now and they said, the most likely, what is the most likely scenario, you would say what you just said to us, this no-deal "brexit" is most likely, is most likely what they're going to have to deal with. so how would they deal with it? what advice would you give them, somebody running a company in the uk, if that is what the reality is going to be. >> u.s. companies need to have a

positive approach to the prospect of a no-deal scenario. under a no deal, you are going to see a very big, u.s., uk free frayed agreement, already being discussed and negotiated t could be implemented soon after britain leaves the european union. that deal will be great for american business, british businesses for jobs on both sides of the atlantic. i would urge u.s. consist -- companies to take a positive approach. the british government needs to make the preparations to assure no deal is success. connell: what if they don't or that end up being the case there would be volatility, not that we haven't grown used to that, there would be volatility in the world financial markets because of no deal being put together? doesn't mean that is the conventional wisdom but if you're right, what do you expect? >> if the government announced they were preparing for specifically a no-deal scenario you could see some immediate impact on the markets. you saw the same impact when

britain voted to leave the european union, the markets fell. but within a few days the markets soar again. the ftse 100 is up over 20% since the eu referendum in 2016. markets will build this in. i think in the long run the markets will once again surge. after all i think the british economy is in pretty good shape. record levels of how unemployment actually in the united kingdom. you have london continues to operate as the world's biggest financial center. there is economic confidence in britain right now. under a no-deal scenario there may be a temporary upset for markets. but for the long term markets will go -- melissa: we want to bring in johns lonski, moody's chiefs director and heather zumarriaga is vision four vice president. play out the rest of the scenario we were talking to nile

about. when we get to the point, we do "brexit" with no deal in place, what does it mean from a practical point of view for people going to visit, for the currency, for all those kind of things? can you think through some of the scenario what that would look like both inside of the uk and outside? >> well if you have lingering uncertainty, that might weigh on the british pound. it would make it more attractively priced in terms of dollars, cheaper in terms of dollars. could help u.s. visitors but i don't know if that necessarily will become a permanent fixture. with uncertainty markets will move about but it will be the underlying fundamentals of british economy that will determine that country's fate and as the previous guest said, those fundamentals look quite attractive. connell: that is what we say about our own economy funny enough as well.

heather what is the your take? the reason the door of number 10 downing street is being shown she women come out and react. the idea of a no-deal "brexit." that is purely speculation. she won. she will take her plan to brussels. it could still survive that way. to john's point that adds to uncertainty. how important is what is going on over there for our markets and for everything that we watch here? >> it is very important for our markets. if you look back in 2016 when the initial "brexit" vote took place our markets were very rattled. the 10-year was down to interest rate levels we haven't seen i don't think ever but shortly bounced back. i think this leads to certainty. it at least for the short term in the uk, in the u.s. businesses can now plan what they want to do. we don't have to wait on this anymore. and i'm glad that she is still british prime minister at this time. and, i don't think she will

resign either. this is positive for the currency and positive for our markets. melissa: stand by to everyone, who is there right now. we'll bring in even another person. we'll bring in anthony garner, former u.s. ambassador to the european union. thank you for joining us. what is your reaction to the confidence vote in theresa may and where do you think "brexit" goes from here as a result? >> well the result is not obviously a strong signal of support for but i would disagree with one of our prior speakers on a very important point. i think a hard deal "brexit" is unlikely. parliament took last week took a decision, they would basically take the pen decide what would happen if none of the existing options gained approval. and secondly a hard "brexit" would be a terrible thing for the uk and for u.s. investors. for many reasons. you've seen almost all serious

economic reports done on this show, it is the worst of the available options. uk economy would be hit i think by 7%. most of the studies show. you have more than 30 free-trade agreements that the uk would lose the benefit of, that the eu signed around the world. you have more than 100 international agreements uk would lose benefit of if it crashed out with no deal. there would be huge uncertainty. of course it would lose access, frictionless access to single market even though with trade under wto rules. it would be a very bad outcome. i think it is not likely out come at this point. connell: that is important as well. nile will want to respond to that. melissa: yeah. connell: ambassador gardner, one point people in markets look at, almost boy who cried wolf syndrome tonight's earlier point, when the original "brexit" happened, even the u.s. election took place we were told markets will crash. yes, we had short-term reactions to the downside after both those events. they came roaring back.

it may be a wrong assumption, but people start to make assumptions a similar pattern may play itself out this time. anthony, why don't you think that is right? >> there have already been impact on the uk economy, absolutely true. the employment rate is strong but we've seen the pound take a hit, but not only that foreign direct investment has taken a hit. the uk gone from the fastest growing economies in the eu, to one of the slowest growing economies in the eu. it is absolutely wrong to say there is basically been a you know, an overestimate of the uncertainty this has on business. i speak to a lot of u.s. businesses would put on hold many important decisions where they will put their money. it is true many companies have not taken a lot of headcount out of the uk thus far. what they have done, diversified their risks or started to opening up businesses preparing to move people should it be

necessary. melissa: heather, we don't think we want to forget about you, but nile, i want to give you a chance to respond to what anthony said because he basically contradicted every point you made. >> i have to fundamentally disagree with everything that anthony said there. this is just reiteration of project fear, the kind of fear-mongering language that came ahead of the 2016 referendum, predictions of doom and gloom. actually britain has record levels of foreign direct investment coming into the country. british foreign direct investment in the united states last year was up 20%. u.s. fdi in the uk is up nearly 10%. this idea that, you know, "brexit" is having a dampening effect on the uk, economy, on the markets simply is not true whatsoever. i think these arguments that britain will fall off a cliff, there is no-deal "brexit," this is scaremongering of the very

worst variety. none of these doom and gloom predictions have come true since the 2016 referendum. britain is in great shape. will be continue to be in great shape. world's fifth largest economy. world financial center. britain will be huge successful economy working closely together with the united states. the special relationship will absolutely boom an thrive in the "brexit" era as president trump said on many, many occasions. "brexit" is good for america and britain as well. connell: do you have an example to follow up on what nile said, example after u.s. company you have spoken to who said they already had to make adjustments or make changes in their business plan? >> i will not mention any name. its obvious. there are many, many companies out there who have said so publicly, that they have put major decisions on hold. i work also, been in london for 18 years. i work with a lot of companies on some of their boards. many of them decided they will

not make significant invests in this country. let me be clear. i was negotiating a significant agreement with the eu when i was ambassador to brussels an these agreements are not easy to negotiate. they're not easy to conclude. the idea that the united states is going to sign a big, bold, beautiful, free-trade agreement with the uk should it crash out in march is assembly laughable. people said that there it was going to happen within weeks. it is not true. most of them will take years. in fact, most of them take many years to conclude. melissa: okay. so this, i'm going to ask john, heather to weigh in, who do you think is, the scenario rings true? this is a lot. sounds like the conversation we had about pulling out of nafta and how now, you know, canada and mexico were going to hate us, we would never make a dial. we couldn't make a better deal. classic clash between someone whose roots are in diplomacy and someone looking at the world sort of a customer of everything that's out there.

heather, what do you think? >> yeah, i think that trade can be worked out and resolved over time. i think it is important for the viewer to understand what's at heart of the issue why they want to leave which is, they want to control their own borders, they want to control their own money laws. they have immigration problems. people flocking into their country, 500 people a day. look, the eu has been relying on them, other weaker nations in the eu, spain and greece, for a long time. that is why, i believe that's why they voted that they want out. connell: quick thoughts, john. we'll get back to ashley webster as well. >> as long as we don't have any clarity what these trade agreements are going to look like, that means that business investment and business hiring activity and -- in the uk will be lower than otherwise however i think it's a stretch to believe that a hard "brexit" necessarily means that the uk

economy is going to slip into a deep and extended recession. connell: all right. we're going to revisit all of these. especially if theresa may, maybe she is having tea or something. hasn't had a chance to come out. ashley is freezing outside of westminster. let's bring him back with all of this. are they dancing in the streets, ashley, what is the scene over there? >> they're not. it is too cold. i think theresa may is having something a lot stronger than a cup of tea, i'll tell you that. interesting to listen to the nile and anthony, because the same argument plays out day after day on the tv shows here, the news programing here. one side saying, listen we just can't just crash out of the eu it will be economically disasterous. planes will be grounded. ports will be jammed for months to come. there which be food shortages, medical supply shortages. other side says, wait a minute. yes there will be pain in the

initial transition when they crash out but ultimately deals can be made. arrangements can be made. ultimately the uk will be free to make those deals. arguments on both sides. i hear it day after day. i hear it in parliament. we hear it every way. that in a nutshell is the problem with "brexit." no one can agree on the benefits. we can't even agree how to get out of the eu in a orderly manner but i got to tell you, the longer this goes on, mrs. may will go to brussels tomorrow. good luck finding any concessions from the eu they said this is it. this is your best deal. as we know, she doesn't have the votes in parliament to get this deal through. so with the clock ticking, no "brexit," a hard "brexit" becomes more and more likely. connell: ashley, thank you my friend. we'll be back in a moment. we'll try to fit in a quick break. we wait for theresa may outside of prime minister's residence, number 10 downing street.

she found out 21 minutes ago she stays -- melissa: at least for now. connell: at least for now. on to brussels. we'll be back in a moment. ♪ to you, logo. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

>> breaking news all over the place today as we await theresa may in london. she did survive the vote and will make comments soon. china announcing first major purchase of u.s. soybeans since president trump met with the chinese president xi xinping at the g20 summit earlier on this month. comes as the canadian foreign minister is expected to hold a knew conference on the huawei ceo. we're told that could happen any minute. a lot going on in washington for edward lawrence. edward? reporter: connell, the tone changed from the chinese, after president donald trump met with president xi xinping, at the g20 summit. we're seeing the results of that tone related in the markets today, with that little bounce that we got.

two presidents, white house cautiously optimistic. looks like they're signaling in the right direction. we're eyes wide open. all the trade bar yes, sir to come down, the tariffs to come down. meantime the signals are good. commerce secretary wilbur ross agrees, alluding there may be a another market rally based on more chinese news that will come out. listen. >> we had good announcements today. it will two piece by piece. >> a planning body made changes to the made in china, 2025 plan.

those changes are down playing their role or goal to have dominance in technology, manufacturing by 2025. also allowing foreign companies, other companies to participate participate in some. manufacturing, signaling opening the markets. we'll see when the final product comes out next year, if the changes are true changes or just window-dressing. connell: that is a huge announcement. markets loved that announcement. melissa: prime minister theresa may may, here she comes. we would say she is about to speak, here she is. what she has to say after the confidence vote. >> i'm pleased to receive backing of my colleagues in tonight's ballot. while i'm grateful for that support, a significant number of colleagues did cast a vote against me and i have listen to what they said. following this ballot, we need to get on with the job delivering "brexit" for the british people, building a

better future for this country. a "brexit," that delivers on the votes that people gave. to bring back control of our money, our borders, and our laws. protect jobs security and unions. that brings the country back together, rather than entrenching division. that will start here in westminster, with politicians on all sides coming together, acting in the national interests. for my path i heard what the house of commons said about the northern ireland backstop. when i go to the european counsel tomorrow. i will seek legal and political assurances that will assuage the concerns that members of parliament have on that issue. while delivering "brexit" is important, we also need to focus on the other issues that people feel are vital to them. that matter to them today. the issues that we came into politics to deal with. building a stronger economy.

delivering first class public services, building the homes that families need. we owe it to the people who put us here, to put their priorities first. so here is our renewed mission. delivering "brexit" people voted for. bringing the country back together and building a country, that truly works for everyone. >> are you getting a "brexit" deal through? connell: that is it from theresa may. the prime minister of the uk, heading back into her residence at number 10 downing street. ashley webster, ambassador gardner, nile gardiner is with us, on the panel. let me go, you see the panel on the screen to ashley first. we get to all you guys. ashley webster in westminster. i know what she said. she is grateful, still in power, she is going to listen to the will of the people. could you explain, the big

sticking point northern ireland and background what she was referring to? >> bottom line, connell with the northern ireland backstop, if nothing can be sorted out the way the agreement reads, northern ire landed will remain in some form of eu customs to keep the border open. the fear from northern ireland's point of view it will be definitely within trapped within the customs offices of the eu in order to keep the border open. it has been agreed by everyone agreed upon by everyone. the question how could do you keep the open border without northern ireland involved in some eu customs rules? the fear at some point, that will be separated from the united kingdom, northern ireland is a part of.

threatening to break up the united kingdom. it is a tricky issue. not sure how you do it. they like it, but fear northern ireland could end up permanent involved in the eu customs situation which they do not want. how you solve it, quite frankly i have no idea. connell: nobody else seems to either. if anybody knows how you solve the tricky can issue, the border between republic of ireland and northern ireland what other options are available to theresa may? melissa and i wonder will there be another referendum? is that another thing that might happen. might results be different that time around? >> well i think there is no way that the conservative government will agree to another referendum. nor should there be another referendum. 17.4 britons voted in june 2016

to leave the european union. the britain has to respect the will of the british people. there is no need for a second referendum. britain had its vote. british people voted on matter. as long as there is conservative government you will not have a second referendum. the alternatives to renegotiate the eu that will not happen at all. the other alternative go down the no-deal route. which is absolutely inevitable here. and there is no prospect i think of the the eu you making any concessions on the northern ireland back do issue. don't forget the eu negotiated this withdrawal deal with the united kingdom, in mean-spirited, very nasty fashion in order to issue a warning to other european countries of the consequences for leaving the eu sort of punishment beating eu issued. they are no, no mood to make any concessions here.

the fact is that with the northern ireland back do? place they are tied to the customs union, that is heart of failure of theresa may's deal. there is no way i think she will get the eu to back down over this. >> ambassador. if there is a hard exit as was suggested, if this deal doesn't go through, is that better or worse for the eu? i understand how you feel it would work out for the uk. if the eu force this is scenario, where there isn't a deal that can pass in the uk, are think better or worse off for having you know, forced this situation forward? >> of course the eu doesn't want a hard no deal "brexit." it would be bad for europe. bad for uncertainty. bad for investments. they're not wishing for that. they have done the best in their

negotiation. i disagree entirely. all the e u2 7 have domestic politics as well. the uk while it was a member tried to have many benefits of non-membership. now it wants to be a non-member with all the benefits of membership. you can't have it. it is impossible. so that really where we are today is in large part the logical consequence of the decisions and red lines that were drawn by this prime minister along time ago. some of the idealogical rhetoric were just detached from realty. eu cannot give better deal to exiting member or the continuing 27. melissa: john, real quick, can you respond to that? a lot of people say that is why an eu didn't make sense in the first place. the ambassador mentioned that everybody has their domestic politics they're trying to focus on. that is kind of the point. the countries politics and needs don't align with all of europe?

>> sovereignty is a big issue here. don't forget matters of taxation, low rate of taxation in ireland, one of the eu countries. higher rates of corporate income taxes elsewhere. those differences can cause strains an stresses question the longevity of the european union. and warn us that it doesn't solve all of the problems, all the differences that the member countries have, speaking of which. heather, weigh in on this, this is not the only story from this region in the news right now, more or less over the last however many months. we're dealing with the protests in france. we're dealing with slowing economies in places like germany, the budget issues and italy, on and on it goes what we're seeing in the uk. when you make risk related decisions where money should be flowing how do you look at europe? how much money should be

flowing? >> that doesn't sound like a great area to invest in now, you're right, connell. there is uncertainty around the globe, more in the eu and u.s., speaks to how globalized and interconnected we are now. they were rallying on chinese negotiations and trade. i think market continues higher tomorrow because we do have certainty from this no confidence vote. whether you agree with it or back it or not, whether "brexit" will pass or not. at least we got past a short term event. it goes to prove that we're so globally interconnected. it does matter. what happens in the eu does matter here at home in the u.s. and for our markets. melissa: yeah. is ashley still with us? >> i think so. melissa: okay. ashley, do you really feel like its northern ireland situation? is that really the biggest thing that people are talking about? or what is the main sort of sticking point or talking point that you're hearing when you talk to people out on the street? i know you like to go into the

pub to talk to the locals. ashley: where i do my best work, let's be honest. i think that is the key issue certainly for the lawmakers, this concern. i think boris johnson described it as a lobster pot. it lures you in. once you're in, you're trapped and you can't get out with regard to the backstop of northern ireland being forever under eu rules in that customs situation. there are others who say there are other aspects of mrs. may's withdrawal, agreement, that still gives a little too much influence from the eu over courts, laws, over free movement, over trade issues, although mrs. may, says that is not true. once the transition period is over at the end of 2020, britain will be largely clear of the eu and free to do whatever it wants to do. there is still the sense that the eu will have a little more influence than people would like. i mean, you know, all day we have protesters saying leave means leave. they want out.

they were quite happy to have the hard "brexit" but it is just not an easy thing to do. the ambassador brought up a very important point that an amendment was agreed upon in parliament last week, that will allow the, how the parliamentary committees to stop a hard "brexit." they would be table to take control. not allow that to happen. by the way the bookmakers, when they start taking bets on what will happen, the outcome of "brexit," the favorite is a second referendum next year. longest odds are for an agreement to be reached i think is really interesting. connell: do they have odds whether it would pass, the second referendum? >> longest odds, 10 to one it will pass. it's a 11 to 8 that it will be a second referendum which according to the bookmakers, the most likely outcome. connell: got it, people we watch especially over. there the bookmakers. thank you to everyone. ashley, let you get back to your office to do best work.

the panel. melissa: we appreciate it. yet another wrinkle. ashley says at the passed a referendum. take control of a hard "brexit." every time we think we know what happens next, a new wrinkle turns it upside down. connell: like our own politics. melissa: moment of reckoning michael cohen sentenced for three years in prison to lying to congress. what could this mean for special counsel robert mueller's investigation going forward. we're live from the new york. that's next

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[laughter] whoo. [crash] and your cut-rate insurance might not pay for this. so get allstate, you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. mayhem is everywhere. so get an allstate agent. are you in good hands? connell: more breaking news, congressman mark meadows is out of the running to be next chief of staff at the white house. "wall street journal" reporting that. president trump apparently told the congressman he wants him to stay in congress. congressman out of north carolina. the chairman of the freedom caucus will not be white house chief of staff.

melissa: learning his fate, president trump's former attorney michael cohen sentenced to three years in prison for a long list of crimes, including hush-money payments that prosecutors say president trump ordered. fox news rick leventhal outside of the courthouse where cohen was sentenced with the latest. rick. >> i was inside the courtroom with the hearing that lasted over an hour. michael cohen spoke for ten minutes, before he was sentenced, about his criminal conduct and i am -- embarassment for his actions and i said blind loyalty to president trump chose a path of darkness over light. he spent years in mental incarceration, his departure as loyal soldier to the president came at a heavy price. he was committed to proving his integrity. history will not remember him as a village of this story.

cohen got mixed reviews from government prosecutors. special counsel's office attorneys said cohen provided credible and reliable information sought to tell the truth after initially lying to congress about his involvement in the project to built the trump tower in moscow. u.s. attorney's office said he didn't come anywhere close to assisting financial crimes and bank fraud and financial violations. showed a pattern u.s. attorney's office said deception, brazenness and greed, willful violations of law. the judge said cohen need ad significant sentence for magnitude and breadth of his misconduct. he gave him 36 months in federal prison. a little less than guidelines recommended. fines, restitution, totaling nearly $2 million. he can spend the holidays with his family. not required to turn himself in until march 6th. melissa: rick, thank you for that. connell: showdown over saudi arabia continues.

senate measure caining momentum following murder of columnist jamal khashoggi. calling u.s. stop supporting civil war in yemen. details where this goes from here when we come back. so lionel, what does being able to trade

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connell: more breaking news from overseas. we got new reaction to the vote of the british prime minister theresa may surviving the vote of no confidence. it comes from opposition jeremy corbin, labour party leader tweeting this, tonight's vote changes nothing. theresa may lost her majority in parliament, her government is in chaos and she is unable to deliver a "brexit" deal that works for the country and puts jobs and the economy first. she must now bring her botched deal back to parliament next

week. jeremy jeremy corbyn. melissa: u.s. with a none binding resolution calling on saudi arabia to stop the war in yemen. here is what secretary of state mike pompeo had to say this morning. >> the murder of of jammal khashoggi is not approved of. we will continue to develop the facts. america has an important ally in the kingdom of saudi arabia. they work with us on issues that provide security for america and for israel. it is an important relationship with the kingdom. we intend to continue to protect the american people. melissa: bring in zuhdi jasser, president of the american islamic forum for democracy. sir, thank you for joining us. what do you think of what mike pompeo said there? >> i think he is right on the money. thank god we have somebody with perspective, proportionality. many of us for a long time have been critical of the regime in saudi arabia. wanted hem to release prisoners

of conscience. come to terms on humidity rights, things they have never done. every president from obama, bush, clinton give them a pass. all of sudden a islamist they declared war on the brotherhood, they commit an sass nation in an embassy which is egregious. we sanctioned 17 of their leaders. all of sudden the left has a conscience about saudi arabia. they want to implode a 50 year relationship and destablize strategic interests for us, for israel, against iran, against qatar, against turkey, other interests in the region we have to remain stable with. sort of a bizarre reaction from, i think of a disproportionate problem. melissa: they're meanwhile debating this non-binding resolution. in other words it's a whole lot of hot air. they will sit there, vote on something that has no teeth, no action, nothing behind it. is there any harm in that, if

there is no follow-through, nothing attached to it? >> here's the harm. the harm where was this resolution a year ago when there were crimes being committed by saudis and iran? where was the resolution a month ago when we had an american citizen from chicago killed in syria, an american citizen killed and assassinated in syria by the assad regime but nobody cared? this decreases our credibility, world sees islamist a saud any national who was killed we turn a blind eye to everything else. all of sudden america has a conscience on yemen. it doesn't fit together. it makes us actually look pretty week and undercuts what secretary pompeo and what the trump administration is doing in the region. melissa: what do you think the appropriate response from the president or the administration on the khashoggi issue? >> from the beginning i tweeted out day after it happened, now is the time for the saudi regime

to release 10 prisoners of conscious, his attorney, if they really care about an individual and are truly apologetic, whether it goes to the top or not. i'm sick and tired of senator graham's "game of thrones." i don't want to replace mbs, bring in somebody else who america owns. that makes no sense. the dabbling in dictatorships ended in the 20th century. at least tell them, release prisoners of conscience we know we've been following, ask them to release. their families are here in the west. we've been asking raif to be released that would show a move towards actual contrition, versus stopping arms deals, pretending to play games of thrones and other things which doesn't make any sense. melissa: in terms of war on yemen, mike pompeo made the argument if the u.s. weren't there, there would be more casualties. it is important to be there to support saudi arabia or promote any kind of stability in the region, on and on. he has a lot of reasons for that. the other side have said, that

it is, you know, it is a crisis, we should have a conscience having any involvement in the region. where do you come down on the situation in yemen? >> i have to tell you i'm heartbroken to see images and hear from folks been there. it is humanitarian disaster on order of what is happening in syria. but what is the solution there. solution is not rely on them and pull out and houthis to put pressure to lead to a bigger confrontation which would have us to be involved militarily, et cetera. we need to think this through. we, yes we should have been putting pressure before to stop crimes of humanity done by saudis especially not it mention the iran and houthis. that is not a solution. we can't remove saudi arabia from yemen, think somehow that will solve the problem in yemen.

that will make it 100 times worse. melissa: zuhdi jasser, thank you for your perspective. >> thank you, melissa. connell: eu tariffs shake up the bourbon industry in america. we'll take you there, to kentucky. we'll see with jeff flock how everything is impacting bottom line for these bourbon makers. the price you're paying for the bottle. that is coming up next. ♪ than a bow and a tree. (morgan vo) those who give their best, deserve the best. get up to a $1,000 credit on select models now ...

connell: trade wars and whiskey. you know, the u.s. bourbon industry is really taking a hit from this back and forth on tariffs with the panorama union jeff flock today live at a distillery in louisville, kentucky with the latest on this jeff? reporter: connell we've actually been at a couple different distilleries earlier one that was particularly hard hit but that is shipping nothing to europe because of the high tariffs and i'll tell you, europe had been such a huge

growth spot for american whiskey , and in fact if you look at the numbers on the growth of american whiskey in the last 10- 20 years, the world loves american whiskey specifically from kentucky the bourbons, the ryes, and when you shut off the market, shut off because the tariff got as high as 25%, that's a problem, but here at mi kters, joe malioco, the ceo, you tell me things aren't as bad as they could be because of the tariffs? >> well obviously we'd love to see the issue resolved in a way that's good for everybody but our export business has been very strong this year, we're actually running up 35% for the first 10 months of this year, so it's great. reporter: i don't think people understand that maybe come on here actually if you could and on this side because if you look at these bottles. this is from where, japan, china , which one here? >> we have thailand, israel, a

bunch of different markets we're in 54 export markets and we really think long term not just for us but for the whole entire american whiskey industry we think export markets are really a very very big potential area of growth. reporter: when we think of the trade deficit actually you contribute to the trade surplus right and let's just go down here because i want to see the actual whiskey going in. walk down with me, joe, you know this has been a huge plus the tariffs, obviously hurt but i don't hear you angry and upset. >> no, not at all. again, our business is strong. we actually had an auction in london last week where one of our bottles sold for $17,000. reporter: walk me over here real quick. i'll show you that bottle just because i know you want to see it, connell. a bottle like this, $17,000. melissa: what! >> it was a 22 year old that sold. connell: wow. >> i think you should taste

some. melissa: no, stop it. connell: cheers, flock we have 10 seconds. melissa: wow! reporter: bye. connell: thanks for joining us, everybody. good show, ha, a little bit of everything. melissa: bulls & bears starts right now. david: hi, everybody this is bulls & bears thanks for joining us i'm david asman. we have carol roth, kevin kelly and deirdre bolton and rick unge r. let's get straight to the breaking news british prime minister theresa may surviving the fight of her political life. take a listen. >> the result of the held this evening is that the parliament party does have confidence. >> [applause] >> i'm pleased to have received the backing of my colleagues in